Fort Ord cemetery site not contaminated, state says

The state Department of Toxic Substances Control has rejected contentions by a Fort Ord advisory council that the proposed site of a veterans cemetery is unsafe.

The department said there is no danger of chemical contamination, as alleged by Mike Weaver, co-chair of the Fort Ord Community Advisory Group.

Weaver said in a March 30 letter that the Parker Flats area pegged for the cemetery was "dangerous" because it is contaminated with toxic chemicals and unexploded military supplies.

"I want to assure (you) that the property has been cleaned up appropriately for its intended use," responded Stewart W. Black, deputy director of the department's Brownfields Environmental Restoration Program, which oversees the cleanup on Fort Ord.

Weaver argued in his letter the area known as "Artillery Hill" has been cleared for munitions only to a depth of 4 feet, not the 6 feet typical for grave sites.

In his response, Black said although the department could not be certain no risk remained, the munitions used at the site would not have penetrated deeper than the 4-foot level. Additionally, he noted, the Army had advised precautions such as posted warnings, safety training for workers and oversight by munitions experts during any future, intrusive construction work.

Black said there is no known groundwater contamination at the site.

The area has been the subject of contentious competition between environmentalists and veterans groups, who are backed by the developers of the proposed Monterey Downs equestrian-themed project. The purchase of part of that project's land, the "endowment parcel," would finance maintenance of the cemetery and is required before the state will build it.

The area around the cemetery site, including the property identified for Monterey Downs, is now the subject of competing initiatives proposed for a future ballot. Those initiatives this week prompted litigation by one group, the veterans, against the other.

Weaver said Friday he had not yet seen Black's response concerning the cemetery, which was forwarded to The Herald by the Fort Ord Reuse Authority. He said the advisory group will decide its next move after it reviews Black's letter.

The group was established by the Toxic Substances Control Department to monitor the cleanup of the former base.

James Bogan, president of the United Veterans Council of Monterey County, said Friday he was confident the site was still right for a cemetery.

"The government agencies say it is clear," he said, "so we accept that word."

Meanwhile, Keep Fort Ord Wild, another group that opposes the cemetery's location in rolling oak woodland, sent a second letter to the state Department of Veterans Affairs expressing concern about the safety of the cemetery site. In it, spokesman Michael Salerno noted that the Army's Record of Decision after clearing the property characterized the risk to workers "who conduct ground-disturbing or intrusive activities as high."

Army records indicate munitions cleared from the property included explosives that will kill or maim an individual if detonated during activity.

Salerno's letter to the department states there are many safer and better alternatives for the cemetery, including hundreds of acres of "abandoned blight" left after the Army's closure of Fort Ord.

Veterans and local representatives, including state Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, say the cemetery's location was agreed on years ago without objection from the environmental community. FORA has moved to transfer the property to the state, which is reviewing documents before the transfer is finalized. The state intends to then apply for a federal grant to fund construction of the cemetery.